You read that right: the service that was introduced as a way to ditch your cards and cash in favor of just your phone is now resorting to using a card. It sounds a little contradictory at first, but doing so would obviously help Google much more easily expand the service's user base, carriers and manufacturers be damned. Plus, using Google Wallet remains much more flexible, since you can use many different cards with your account.

It's certainly clever, but is it tempting enough to lure you away from the plastic you already use?

Comments

Only having one card in my wallet would be super convenient, and would mean I'm not at risk of losing my cards. On the other hand, it may be more of a security issue if someone could access all my cards with one card.

Just hope this comes to the UK.

ERIFNOMI

Someone who steals your Google card wouldn't have access to all your CCs without also having your phone with Google Wallet. If anything, they could use your card and it'd charge your default card. I'd imagine it'd be very easy to deactivate or disassociate your card from Google Wallet.

Wait, can't you also cancel Google Wallet from a computer as well? I hope they have more then one method of "shutting things down".

Thomas Lovett

I love the idea, because you only have to carry one card. If that card gets stolen, all you have to do is disable the GCard, then go about with your NFC or your normal cards. I can't wait.

What I'm really hoping is that they allow to customize the picture on the card!

Justin W

I hope they ditch the Visa/MC logo that's forced upon other cards. It would be obvious that this card would be MC with the way they have set up their offerings, but I want the card that's in the pic (the black one, of course).

tyguy829

It looks that way. Check out the third picture. It shows the cardholder name and number on the back!

It might end up on the back but that's it. Some current high-end cards have clean fronts with all of the information printed on the back.

btod

But you can disable any credit/debit card if it gets stolen. Can I ask what would be the benefit of moving away from a bank card that is directly connected to your bank account to a card that adds an extra step (you->google->bank account)? It can't be the added security because these established banks are more secure than Wallet, especially given the recent hacks.

Why should I drop the rewards benefits and points from my current credit card for something that offers me no points?

Unless there's something I'm missing, the only reason why anyone would get this is if they are a Google fan. Wallet on the phone works, but a physical card, why?

McLean Riley

You can disable this, hopefully, right from the phone. That would be pretty secure.

You still get those points since you should be able to choose what card this card charges when it is ran. So if you go to get gas and you want to use a visa you open phone, pick it and run it. If you want to use mastercard for movies open phone switch back and use.

There is so little use of NFC right now I think this would get more people in it. It would also be good for getting iUsers on it.

Freak4Dell

Yes, you can disable any card. However, if you have multiple cards like many of us do, and your wallet gets stolen, you have to call each and every card issuer to cancel the card. If you're only carrying the Google Wallet card, and your wallet gets stolen, you only have to call Google (or just go online or use the app) to disable the card. That right there saves a lot of time.

If your rewards points are based on purchase (for example, 1% back on all purchases like I have with my Chase Freedom), then you'll still get those points. The only time you may not get the proper points are if your points are based on categories. Even for that, though, Google is attempting to get the card issuers on board to correctly identify the categories.

In my area we don't have a lot of places that accept NFC payments (in fact, so far I haven't seen any at all.) So unfortunately, without this, I can't use wallet at all.

What this would do is allow me to carry 1 card, instead of 3 in my case (maybe more for other people.) As others have pointed out, your purchase would still be sent to your visa, mastercard, whatever, so you could still get points. If I lose my wallet, I disable 1 card instead of 3.

The only potential issue that I see is that one of my cards is a debit card, so idk if this would work in the ATM. If it would work the same in an ATM as well (which it might already) that would be even more awesome. And if I could link retail-specific cards to it (in my area, Wegmans is a big grocery store which has it's own discount card) that would be even better still, and I could get rid of a TON of cards if I can link them all. (Which I'm sure would take time for other retailers to get link to Google's system)

enoch861

If you were to lose all your other cards, you have to call each company, cancel the card and have them send you a new one which takes a while and in some cases you can't afford not to have a payment solution. In this case, lose 1 card, and you'll still have your other cards and will only need to replace 1 "non-essential" card in that case.

donttrollmepeople

special offers and rewards through google. all while keeping your rewards from your banks. i have a debit, credit, and paypal debit card. with the use of the shiny black goggle card, i will only need to carry one.

i would also think that i could continue ti get my visa gift cards from kroger and put those on also. for those days when i want to get cheap fuel.

its a win win and you dont have to be a google fan to see the benefits.

Ian Santopietro

I hate to throw wrenches in this discussion, but what recent hacks are you talking about?

Ravengenocide

The only thing I could find was something about resetting the app in the settings and thus getting access to the card without the pin, and some other hack which requres root. But it doesn't change the fact that you got a single card to block instead of several cards with different providers. It makes the handling much easier and thus safer.

Didn't you know that a while back Google Wallet was hacked? Or at least hackers found the flaw and reported it instead. A simple search should turn up a few results :P.

Ian Santopietro

Nobody hacked it, it's a limitation of security with rooted phones. When you have root-level access to the device and hardware, I would expect it to be possible to access payment information. SU is a powerful tool.

Yes, everyone should know that su is powerful. I think that you know what would happen if malware got installed on those phones or it was to get into the wrong hands.

pwsfinest

I could stop carrying my debit card, 4 credit cards, my wife's debit card, etc, etc and just carry one card and a phone. I can switch which one of the above cards I'm using by selecting it in the app and swiping the same card (or using NFC). If lost or stolen, I don't have to cancel and replace all of the above cards. I can go home and get my debit card and still be able to go about my regular business until my replacement Google card arrives. I'm not worried about rewards since they are gimmicks (but if you like your rewards, then you can choose to make a particular purchase using that card at any time) and I try to avoid using credit cards at all costs, but what if I have an emergency expense? I still have access to whatever card I want through my Google card. It so genius and so simple...

You go shopping 3 days before Christmas and someone steals your card off you in the crowds... now you have to wait until AFTER CHRISTMAS before you can get a replacement card. If they steal the Google card, you can just deactivate it and the real card is still safe and sound at home. That's a good enough reason for me to adopt it!

If you have multiple cards on Wallet, how do you tell your physical Google Wallet card to use one linked card over another? For instance I have a credit card for general purchases, and one for gas because I get more cash back.

Freak4Dell

You use the app on your phone, or the website on your phone, or the website on a computer.

Geoff Johnson

That's far from ideal though. If I go out I get gas using one credit card, then when I get to the restaurant I want to use another. Having to pull out my phone to make the change isn't the best option. Oh well

Freak4Dell

Well, it kind of is the best option, because it's the only option. It's not like you can scream at your card and tell it to pretend it's your American Express today and your Visa tomorrow. Google's pretty far ahead of the curve when it comes to technology, but even they haven't figured out mind control yet.

I do agree with you, though. It's a pain when you switch cards a lot. Depending on what I'm doing in a day, I can use several different cards in one day, so it will be a hassle for me, too. I'm hoping, that like others suggested, there will be a way to set up automatic rules based on merchant categories. That will make things easier.

Geoff Johnson

Haha, the second thing you mentioned is what I was hoping Google would have implemented. Allowing you to set which card to use based on various parameters like the merchant, the cost of the item, etc.

Ravengenocide

How would you do it then? You can choose exactly which card you want to use and you don't need to carry around several cards and their respective number so you can block them if they get stolen. Instead you got a single card and a single phone number which handles all your cards.

Luke

If they make it available in the UK then yeah, I'll be happy to use it if it works with Halifax. The Halifax app is a shit HTML wrapper so I'm looking forward to this.

Brilliant move to get people on the wallet service before nfc payments are everywhere. Get them in now and they will most likely stay.

Charlie Fairchild

The thing that makes it attractive for me is the flexibility.
Lets say someone has stolen your actual credit card number. Use google wallet or the we interface to change your google wallet card to a different number.
Lets say someone steals your google wallet card, just disable it from google wallet.

One card reaching it's limit? You can swap which card is the default and keep using the physical card.

Kenny O

I love the idea of only have to carry the one card and still having the ability to use different cards by switching from my phone. I really love the ability to quickly cancel the Google card if it's lost or stolen without having to cancel all my cards (or having to change cc numbers - which is an absolute pain).

I have one concern about this. I use a credit card that will give extra reward points for specific categories such as gas, etc. I don't think using the account through Google wallet will correctly give me the right amount of points.

I understand what you're saying, but is a "proxy" credit card a thing, or is it just wishful thinking on our part?

All in all, a physical card for Google Wallet doesn't solve a problem I didn't know I had; it solves a problem I authentically do not have. I don't carry several credit and debit cards. I trust the theft reporting processes on the cards I do have. I'm a huge Google supporter in general, but this strikes me has having such a niche benefit that I just can't get excited about it.

The number one problem facing big-picture ideas like this is the quality of mobile data connections. If I can't get a connection to adjust my Wallet settings, this is nearly pointless. Since the early days of Android we've known that the carriers have been the significant obstacle to the entire mobile industry. I'm hoping to see serious gains on the Google Fiber front, to increase the odds of seeing them make on cell carriers as well.

Well maybe it would be so much of a proxy card if Google eventually offered some type of points system for using them instead of cards directly? If they make the points rewards high too, then that would be even better.

Js_215

The way I see it is...

You set your Mastercard or something as your default. And you use it to buy gas. Using the Google Wallet card, is like using the Mastercard. So just picture having the Mastercard, but youre using you Google Wallet Card

letsplaaay

if I remember correctly, my statement showed Google instead of gas station. I never tried calculating the points, so I don't know for sure whether I'm credited the correct amount of points.

Joey

If you are getting rewards that are based purely on expenditure and not categories, you will get it. If you are expecting rewards based on categories of purchases, you will not get get your rewards, because the sale is with Google and not the intended store. Its that simple.

letsplaaay

So that's a problem, isn't it?

zarlwilliam

Yet another layer of CC security... yes I'm in. By tying ALL my personal cards to the physical GW card.. if I lose my wallet I only need to cancel one card. Only other thing I could as for is one-time use credit card numbers for online purchases.

Preston

Anyone know where to get a version that will work on a rooted Verizon S3?

i think its interesting they are blocking it on the s3 but not the galaxy nexus...ive sideloaded every update for a year w/o any problems

Teddy Reardon

by you having to sideload it, that means that verizon is blocking it lol

ltredbeard

yes but preston's question was if there was a version that would work on a rooted S3 and fish's response was Verizon was blocking it every time they find a new patched version.... my response is basically i've never had a problem with a patched version on the galaxy nexus

Allen

I wonder if this means will Google make Wallet an app that doesn't require NFC to use when this is released.

Allen

I should probably state I don't mean make Google Wallet available to use to buy products via your phone if your phone does not have NFC, I just mean add in the compatibility to phones so that they can at least access the Wallet account to change the card over for the physical card.

Freak4Dell

They would have to. Otherwise, this card would be no better than any other card that you already have. If you can't change the default payment method on the go, this whole idea becomes far less useful.

you got to get a working prototype for the future before pushing it out to the world. Since google wallet has had a hard time getting traction in the United States google wants to refine it so it will be accepted everywhere in the United States and then the world. Google is using the United States as a beta test going live lol

Teddy Reardon

You missing a hell yes option lol

Andre Richards

/cheerleader

King Caonabo

Can you add Macy's card, kays etc...

whargharbl

I'm just here to complain that it won't be available in my country.

Fellows

It this were Adobe development - I would trust, but Google - nope..

Adobe is the best developer, which is carry most about their users, and they do support things as each software company should !

i am the only one that thinks this is ridiculous? the whole point of google wallet was so I didn't have to carry around a credit card. Now I can carry around a google wallet card? doesn't that defeat the purpose of gwallet in the first place?

John O’Connor

I see it as more of an enhancement. NFC adoption has been slow to catch on with vendors and even those which have the actual hardware more than likely do not have that portion of the terminal tied into the pos system. I love Gwallet in its current iteration and it would be perfect if it were more ubiquitous, but being able to ditch all cards in favor of one that can be tied to whichever account I wish it to on the fly is certainly not overrated.

Freak4Dell

It's their workaround for people that have unsupported phones or unsupported carriers. If you have a phone with NFC and Google Wallet, then you probably don't need this card (although it's still useful for places that don't have PayPass terminals).

im not sure if they are allowed to do this but when you first sign up to download a app for MS new windows store they could prompt you with a credit card offer, but im not sure if MS really would make that much money off it

Mikee

Oh yes, I am so lazy that I find it difficult and cumbersome to carry around a wallet. Please, oh please, make it easier for criminals to steal my information electronically so I no longer need to worry about having money in the bank. Please, give me the ability to reduce my checkout time at the store from 37 seconds down to 33 seconds. Saving 4 seconds each time I pay a business really adds up.

I love the concept but not when it's tied to the world's biggest advertising and marketing company on the planet. No thanks. I'll wait until someone with less interest in mining my personal life for profit comes along.

Robnelle

Like who? Anyone else who comes at you with this will do exactly the same thing. The selling of consumer information is where the money is these days. If you are waiting around for someone who will offer this service without selling your personal info in some way shape or form, you will be waiting a seriously loooong time.

Alex Murphy

If by "mining" my personal data (not really how it works, but whatever) Google can give me relavant information back to me about products and services I'd actually enjoy, then the stigma of advertising almost disappears. Also Google Now shows that Google can do a helluva more interesting and useful things with your data then just sell you ads.

Jeff Willard

You say that like MasterCard, Discover, and Visa aren't already data mining your purchases and selling the data.

They do? Well that's just sad. Never using them (I don't use any right now).

Eye4Detail

Google uses your information (in-house) to choose relevant advertisements from their group of advertising partners to display to you. Most other companies take your personal information and sell it to third-parties to do with as they please.

So tell me, who is this sainted company that isn't interested in using your data?

Oh I hate companies who sell personal information to third parties. I guess that is how email addresses get out there and all of a sudden you get spammed. Such a dirty industry eh?

Freak4Dell

If they're not mining your data for profit, they will be mining your wallet for profit. Nobody is going to do this for free.

Andre Richards

Came to this article from a blog post and didn't notice it was more or less a Google fan site, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered posting.

But since I did, let me dismiss about 90% of the arguments (and flex my background in the study of formal logic) by pointing out that most of you are relying on the old 'tu quoque' fallacy. That's latin for "you're another" and says that just because someone else is doing something underhanded and evil doesn't mean it's okay in any one, discrete instance. That is, you can't dismiss Google's evil behavior mining user data by pointing out others who do it too. It's still wrong (and even more annoying with Google because they so frequently dress themselves up in altruistic garb and try to be BFFs with everyone.)

Lots of illogical, knee-jerk reasoning in the mix here with all of your reactions, but the most glaring is the fact that I said "advertising and marketing company" and many of you cited back companies that are not. I realize all companies mine user data to one extent or another, but it takes on slightly more sinister overtones when it's a marketing company with the kind of reach Google has. As I have said many times before, if the federal government engaged in the kind of data collection Google does, there would be rioting in the streets, but give someone free maps and they melt into the docile masses.

@Alex Murphy: Reasonable response, but I have a basic philosophical difference with your view and disagree that it's worth allowing a marketing/advertising company to mine my data. If it doesn't bother you, more power to you. I, however, will continue my ongoing boycott of all things Google.

@Freak4Dell: Are you actually suggesting that there's no profit to be made from acting as the middle-man for sales? Hell, half of the planet's business is built on that. There's no need for invasive data mining in that instance but then, Google isn't a retailer, are they?

Freak4Dell

There's a difference between being a middleman between the manufacturer of a product and a consumer, and being the middleman between a retailer and the bank. If you seriously think that Visa, MasterCard, and the others have thrived as much as they do on the meager earnings from credit card processing fees they collect from merchants, you're delusional. But hey, go ahead and start up your own card processing network, and don't mine customer data. Let me know how that works out for you.

Have you tried the LEMON WALLET APP? It scans both sides of your card (currently they have an issue with AMEX cards) and then you have photo copies of your card, plus they also provide an image that can be scanned.

neji

Just cause I'm a Google fan I'll use it.

Dan Koen

Waiting for Google project glass to become reality, first.

Jon Garrett

Id be using the app right now if it wasnt for AT&T blocking NFC on my Note and my wife's S III.

I have a Galaxy Nexus on AT&T and NFC works fine. I wonder if it i becase you bought your phone from AT&T. I would try flashing a new ROM.

bankie

It would be awesome if it weren't Google, Inc's service. Anyone else could get me to use it but Google are greedy, champions of tiered internet (read "information") access and hoarders of personal information.

Uh, no.

Besides, who carries ALL their cards with them anyway? You use all your cards every time you leave the house? At max I've got two cards and my ID with me. That's just stupid.

John O’Connor

I carry all of my cards with me, perhaps I am paranoid like that since I do not want them to get lost or stolen and there was no good alternative (yet) to keeping everything at home. Some of us like to use different cards for different reasons and some of us also carry cards for work so it's not like we ditch our wallets when there are different use cases. If this new wallet card works the way I hope, then I can ditch them all in favor of the one and can change on the fly which account, whether personal or business, checking or credit, in which I want the card to be used as.

There is certainly some utility here for obvious reasons and then the not so obvious. Say your Google Wallet cards get lost or stolen, you can then deactivate it with your phone or computer immediately. If your wallet or purse get stolen, you have to call every bank and card issuer to have fraud alerts placed on your accounts, cards cancelled and reissued, and the endless headaches that are associated with such a loss

Eye4Detail

You're right, people like you should stick with services like Isis...since "anyone else" isn't as greedy as Google.

Freak4Dell

I carry all of my cards with me. Different cards are used for different purchases, and I also have gas cards that are only valid at their respective station brands. I have this magical thing called a wallet that holds my 5 or 6 cards all the time.

ChadAllard

Being an iPhone user, I have a lack of NFC/RFID embedded in my phone, but I'm an avid fan of Google and all of its services. I will definitely be getting the physical card, as I see this technology exploding very shortly.

selonmoi

Sigh. Still not available in Canada, and no sign of any movement on that front.

Google is totally locked out by the big Carriers in the US, but they refuse to look internationally.

tomwho

If your credit card gets stolen you have protection against illicit use. If your Google card gets stolen and used, do you have any protection? You still have the cc so it wasn't stolen.

It should. It would still be a fraudulent charge, so you can call up your CC issuer and report it like you would if someone got your account info from an unsecured website and started making charges to your account.

Freak4Dell

Correct. I've had fraudulent charges to my card when my card never left my possession. The bank handled them as any other fraudulent charge, reversed them, sent me a new card, and launched an investigation.

Justin Swanson

This might be even better. If you lose your Google Wallet card, you should be able to terminate it's use on the Google webpage, then watch your purchases (for all cards) in one place and quickly react to any fraudulent charges.

jay

The only concern I have is how rewards points get calculated. I get 4% back on gas with Amex. If I use GW and select the Amex card... will I still get cash back?

jay

the amount charged to your registered card is charged by Google Wallet and not by the merchant where you make a purchase. Rewards and benefits, if applicable, will be decided by your card issuers.

Owen

Will this mean my Amex card will be accepted by using this as a proxy?

Justin W

Yes, I believe this will work that way. It's how GWallet already works, so you shouldn't have any issue using the physical card as a proxy.

Martin

I can't because of Verizon or I already would use it.

William Pickering

I will glue that card to the back of my three year old HTC Desire and pretend I have NFC.

Freak4Dell

Hmm...maybe you meant that as a joke, but that's actually an interesting move. I wonder if you could just stick the card in your phone case between the case and the back of the phone (if the card has a chip, that is). Of course, if it's the only card you carry, and you come to a place that doesn't have PayPass, then you have to go through the hassle of taking the card out, but it would be pretty seamless otherwise.

TechGuy21

yes, i have 4 cards if google wallets can turn them into. why the hell not

Walter Prout

IMHO, I wouldn't trade all the Convenience in the world regarding this because I know when it comes down to my Survival, electronic means nothing when you can't get your money to buy food !

Gamwich

I don't get it yet - what's the benefit over using my free Visa card thats accepted everywhere?

This could be a really good idea. Especially for American Express and Discover card holders. It not only would provide the convenience of one card, but also the ability to use AMEX and Discover at places that only take Visa/MC.

I love the idea .. however I do not feel safe enough on my device to do this yet !!

Doug Nichols

Is this launching in the UK? Or yet another thing only those lucky Americans get :( ?

yankeesusa

It is definitely something I will look at. I just ordered a nexus s for sprint just to be able to use google wallet while I wait for my note 2 before the end of the year. I really hope this works out for google and google wallet. But they do have competition and as long as that competition keeps getting great contracts it is going to be hard for google. I guess we'll see.

theduce102

I would definitely get the Google Wallet card to replace my one debit card just because it has Google on it lol

name

give me a free new nexus phone and nexus tablet every year, I'll use it.

There isnt one because you CAN use Wallet while rooted. If you mean because it says "Unsupported device" in the Wallet app, that just means Google isnt responsible if your info gets stolen, because you willingly removed a layer of security by unlocking/rooting your phone.

i would if its available in australia, also does anyone think it will be a debit or a prepaid credit card due to the fees(being debit cards in the US get charged 24c and credit cards are more like 1.5%+) and because google passes the full amount over to the attached debit/credit card google has to pay that fee, maybe a credit card instead of a debit card will help this but im not sure?, but i would love to see a google credit card

No, it negates the whole point for me. I dont want to have to carry a card. Just my phone. I already have a card (Mastercard used with Google Wallet) and its got a good points program. This wont work with points programs with other cards so even if you had a different Visa its still not going to get you anything.

Ravengenocide

It might work with points depending on if your provider enables it or not. And it is for those cases where NFC payments won't work so that you need to use your card anyway.

just wanted to know, the current google wallet has a debit card that you can add any debit/credit card to but does it still have the citibank cards on the phone its self?, or do you have to add then to the google debit card?

Geoff Johnson

The only reason I don't use Google Wallet is because I like the rewards I get with my current credit cards.

Count me in. +1 for being Google, +1 for handing my money to Google. I just hope by putting all my faith into Google, someone Google doesn't change the way they do business. Google has "earned" my trust with their goodfaith actions, lets just hope getting bigger doesn't motivate the shareholders to hold Google into changing directions and away from goodfaith.

donttrollmepeople

i sometimes worry about what google will become in twenty years. and at the same time i definitively look forward to what google is going to become in twenty years.

i just had a convo with a buddy of mine the other day. explaining to him why i support a company such as google. its simple.... 'they give so much and all they ask is that you view and click a few ads.'

FrillArtist

I still don't understand this new card so I voted "Maybe".

Ravengenocide

This card enables you to use Google Wallet with any place that hasn't any PayPass terminal enabling NFC payments. This card is so that you can have access to all your cards without actually having them with you and instead you use this card to pay with.

FrillArtist

Ohhhhh....that makes sense. Wow. That's pretty cool.

Laborin_HK

I would, but Google wallet isn't supported in Aus right now.

KC

The whole point of NFC is to be cardless! My actual wallet is giving me a pain in the butt literally, from its bulkiness and my sitting on it too often, in my fairly tight jeans.

If the smartphone can replace all the cards (credit, charge, tolls, parking, malls, airline tickets, etc.) the better it'll be. The physical cards (not the services) I can do without, but the phone, NO.